Major events on tap for Napa Valley

Chronicle staff report

Published 4:56 pm, Friday, October 12, 2012

Three major events will take over Napa Valley in the next couple of months.

Napa Valley Film Festival, Nov. 7-11: The second annual festival opens at the Napa Valley Opera House with a world premiere: the made-for-Napa film, "Somm," about the competitive world of the Master Sommelier exam.

The screenings, which include dozens of other films, will be accompanied by soirees, winemaker dinners, panel discussions and wine tastings. Robert Mondavi Winery will host the festival gala on Nov. 8, with food prepared by 15 Napa Valley chefs; and festival honorees Alan Cumming, James Marsden, Imogen Poots and Adam Driver will be toasted at a program on Nov. 9.

For details and ticket information, go to napavalleyfilmfest.org.

Flavor Napa Valley, Nov. 14-18: Leading off this four-day "Celebration of Food, Wine and Fun," as it is billed, and benefiting the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone, is a series of "Terroir to Table" experiences. Those include exploring how olive oil is made, the mysteries of the white truffle, wine blending, making gnocchi and more.

Also on tap over the course of the event: dozens of guided wine tastings, including a blind tasting led by Mina Group wine director Rajat Parr; exploring the intricacies of The Chronicle's Top 100 Wines with wine editor Jon Bonné; and matching wine and cheese.

Cooking demonstrations with Thomas Keller of the French Laundry, Michael Chiarello of Bottega, Christopher Kostow of the Restaurant at Meadowood, Cindy Pawlcyn of Cindy's Backstreet Kitchen and Scott Conant of New York's Scarpetta are also on the schedule, as are celebratory lunches, dinners and "First Taste Napa" - a taste-around of the city's restaurants gathered together at Copia.

Events are held at various Napa Valley locations, and are priced individually and as packages. For details and ticket information, go to flavornapavalley.com.

Napa Valley Restaurant Month, January: Many of the area's restaurants and lodges are offering special deals for the first month of next year. Preliminary information is available now at visitnapavalley.com. Expect more offers to be added in the coming weeks.

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